Friday 12th July 2024
We are attending a 5-night rally held by the Autosleepers Owner’s Club, joined by our friends, Jeeves, Michelle and their dog Layla. We arrived on-site last evening, tired after the 200 miles journey, so waited until today before exploring the locality.
St. Ives is a very pleasant small market town with a long history. The archeological evidence shows that the 150 mile long River Great Ouse, which runs through the town, was used for trade in Roman times.
In the year 974, the settlement of Slepe, as it was then called (near the current Parish Church) was given by King Edgar to Ramsey Abbey. In 1001, some bones were found by a ploughman. These were likely of Roman origin, but were declared as being those of Saint Ivo by the Abbot. This prompted the foundation of St. Ivo’s priory, which became popular with pilgrims, leading to the town of St. Ives being developed.
The town bridge sits on the site of a former wooden bridge built in 1107, which was itself built on the site of a ford. The crossing at this point became a focus for trade and in the year 1110, King Henry 1 granted a charter for an annual Easter fair, which in the 13th century became on of the greatest fairs in England. The current stone-built crossing was built in 1425. It has a chapel half-way across, dedicated to St Leger, which was used to collect tolls.
The bridge was partially demolished by Cromwell’s men in 1645 and a drawbridge fitted as a defensive measure. This part of the bridge was rebuilt in 1716, but with rounded arches.
In times gone, the town became an inland port, with barges moving produce from seagoing vessels at Kings Lynn, along the river.
The fields around St Ives often flood and the bridge is accessed by a raised causeway to ensure the road remains open:
Friday and Monday are market days. There were a few stalls today, but we were told Monday’s market is larger.
There has been a church on this site in St Ives for a thousand years. How much of the original building remains is not known, but the 19th century rood screen is spectacular:
Just wandering around the town, I came across this old car:
I spoke to the owner and explained my interest. My father bought one of these new when I was young and we toured Scotland in it on more than one occasion. It is a rear-engined big brother to the VW Beetle, but it has a boot both at the back and at the front.
A lot of effort has gone into making the town look nice:
"See-u-Later" 